Product description

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes an extraordinary novel of fear, friendship, courage, and hope that Kirkus Reviews says "will have readers up until the wee hours," School Library Journal raves is "fast-paced and captivating," and E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars, calls "a thrill a minute."Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a poor town of twelve thousand people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do. Heather never thought she would compete in panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors. She'd never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought. Dodge has never been afraid of panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game; he's sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he's not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for. For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them--and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

Customer reviews

In a small town of Carp, the high-school seniors play a game called Panic. A game so dangerous some players even died. The pay-off can be huge with a pot of money so big that these teens can jump-start their lives. Told in dual point of views, we unravel the secrets that this little town of Carp is hiding.

Heather and Dodge are both such different entities. Their characters so different, yet the same. Both willing to risk their lives to play and win, they get desperate enough to cheat. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this and I was surprised that it was a contemporary mystery. Lauren writes very realistic characters and that's one of her strong assets when writing. Panic is no exception. She writes Heather and Dodge extremely well. I felt like they were real people. They're not perfect at all and you notice their progress from the very beginning. The pacing is perfect and it had me turning the pages. It's also a pretty fast read because I wanted to know who ends up winning the entire game. It's a little predictable but I guess it worked out that way. As for the game itself, I found myself gasping at what they had to do. Downright dangerous, I knew I wouldn't be able to attempt any of them.

Recommended for anyone looking for a thrilling contemporary mystery that will have you sitting at the edge of your seat.

I've declared my undying love for Lauren Oliver before (and her books), so here's your fair warning that I'm predisposed to like her new books. Her writing style is magical (even if her book doesn't have any magic), her stories are intoxicating, and Panic is no exception.

Panic is eerie in the way that it depicts a story I can't imagine, yet makes it believable. That's a tricky thing to accomplish, but it's important because I felt invested in the outcomes of these characters which made Panic an exciting read that I couldn't put down.

Reasons to Read:

1. Convincing characters:

I remember reading the description for Panic when it first came out a while ago, and I wasn't too sure what to think of it. The description itself doesn't really grab me, and I was curious about what kind of world-building I'd find. The answer is that there isn't too much - the world in Panic seems to be the same one I live in. And I was a bit skeptical that Panic wouldn't convince me that these teens, these characters would risk their lives and do something so crazy - I wasn't too sure I'd buy into the idea of the Panic game existing in a town for such a long time. But Lauren Oliver brilliantly tells the story of a handful of teenagers who have their own purpose for participating in Panic. She convinced me that their participation was a plausible course of action, and then she convinced me to care about these characters and what happens to them (as she so often does in her books).

2. Fast-paced, non-stop action:

The story in Panic is told around this breathless hysteria and because there are so many secrets about Panic and my need for resolution for these characters, I found it difficult to put Panic down and take a break from reading. It captured my attention from the very beginning and held it until I read the last page. But I also appreciated that there was a clear resolution and end to the story. It isn't perfect, but ti's there which felt very important to me when reading a standalone book.

3. Some truly surprising twists:

Panic easily has some of my favourite plot twists that I have ever read. They're slowly hinted at so that the reader can figure things out before Dodge or Heather, but I like that slow, controlled type of reveal. It was just so well-orchestrated and it really enhanced the story, in my opinion.
And as much as I liked this overall, there were a few events which were far too coincidental for my taste. And when they occurred at the end of the big, there wasn't nearly enough of an explanation which left me with a few too many questions. While I don't mind an open-ended resolution which leaves me with plenty to ponder, this just seemed to be too rushed as opposed to entirely thoughtful.

But this story is such a rush and I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure Panic gave me!

I thought Oliver did a great job with developing Heather's character- I loved how she made Heather a strong, independent, tall and somewhat clumsy character, despite being one of the weakest character throughout most of the book. I also thought the idea of the game itself was really interesting, and at times, kind of scary and freaking. It was mind-boggling how much power the game had, and how much the game controlled the lives of the all the students.

I wanted to read Panic because I enjoyed Lauren Oliver's other contemporary and even though this one sounds different, I liked the direction it was going in. The idea of this big game and stunts, and where these two characters could face such things and possibly fall in love along the way intrigued me. Which I have to say, when reading the synopsis I almost thought that there was a supernatural or dystopian element to the story, but I think that it makes it more realistic, and it is set that it could happen in real life and it wasn't really forced on the kids, but more like a town tradition.
I liked both of the main characters, Heather and Dodge. They had secrets, and reasons why they were entering the games, on why they needed the money. Both of their families have their own backstories and play into the reasons they are playing and want to win. They are both sisters as well, and I loved the individual bonds, and how they grew and changed through the story.
The games though really shocked me. What they planned and the extremely dangerous element to them. They went over the previous years' deaths and that made me think that there was an even higher risk to this year's game. I think that these types of stunts though are def not out of character of a small town summer with nothing for the teens to do. I do think that the planning system and that everyone pays into the pot is kinda unrealistic, but I went with it for the sake of the story.
It was def high adventure and had me scared for what my characters might face next as the group of players gets smaller and smaller. It had me glued to the pages, and I read it quickly, but I don't think this will be one that sticks with me and I think about after, hence the 3.5
I think that Heather really grew and learned a lot through the games as well as through the things that she had to deal with at home. I love the side plot with the lady she gets a job with Anne. Anne has a farm of sorts and rescues animals and hires Heather to help her. The bond that they form is special and I appreciated reading about it and how it developed.

The ending worked out pretty well and matched what I expected from the book. It wrapped things up and even gave up a glimpse at the near future of the characters.

Bottom Line: Fast paced and demanded my attention while reading.

Review quote

"Oliver's novel is a wholly believable and compulsively readable tale of friendship, loyalty, survival, and courage."--Booklist

Back cover copy

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a poor town of twelve thousand people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.Heather never thought she would compete in panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She'd never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.Dodge has never been afraid of panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game; he's sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he's not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them--and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.In this gritty, spellbinding novel, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver delivers a gripping narrative of friendship, courage, survival, and hope.